Panagia, as the Virgin Mary is also called, has a deep historical connection to the modern Greek nation’s struggle for independence. For Greeks, the day is both one of the year’s most important religious holidays and a popular celebration that unites the country in festivity and reverence.

The cities are emptying out

August 15 is a public holiday in Greece, and the entire country comes to a standstill. The capital, Athens, and other cities are emptying as people travel to the villages and the islands to celebrate Panagia. The usually busy streets in central Athens, such as Panepistimiou St. and Patision St. become strikingly quiet and deserted, creating an almost eerie atmosphere in the otherwise vibrant and noisy capital.

The Island of Tinos, a center for pilgrimages

One of the most famous celebrations takes place on the island of Tinos, where thousands of pilgrims gather to honor the Virgin Mary at the central church of Panagia Evangelistria. Many come to fulfill a τάμα/tama, a votive offering for answered prayers. It’s still common to see believers walking on their knees on the red carpet leading up to the Panagia Evangelistria church, in gratitude or hope for divine help.

In Greek churches, one can often see small metal plaques, also called τάμα/tama, hanging on the icons. The plaques are usually embossed with an image showing the purpose of the answered prayer. It could be an eye for restored sight or a ship for rescue from shipwreck.

The celebrations on Tinos also have a national dimension. On August 15, 1940, the Greek cruiser Elli was torpedoed by an Italian submarine while anchored off the island to take part in the festivities. The event is still commemorated every year as part of the celebrations.

Folk festivals combining tradition and joy

Just as with other Greek holidays, many πανηγύρια/panigyria, traditional folk festivals, are organized throughout Greece during this time. If you’re in the country at this time of year, you’re likely to come across one of these festivals, either on the mainland or on the islands.

These events combine religious ceremonies with lively festivities, featuring music, dance, and traditional food, where both locals and visitors participate. They provide a unique insight into Greek folk life.

In our article about island-hopping in Greece in the 1980s, you can read about the August 15 celebration on the island of Amorgos [unique visual material].

During the festivities, it’s customary for the church to offer both food and drink. The food is cooked in large cauldrons and served to all participants, while the wine flows abundantly to the tunes of traditional music and dance. The celebration usually lasts from the evening before the holiday until early the next morning.

August 15: an important name day for many

August 15 is also the name day for many Greeks, including those named Maria, Panagiotis, Panagiota, Marios, Despoina, Parthena, etc. Maria is the most popular name in Greece, making the celebration even more extensive.

In Greek culture, name days have traditionally been more important than birthdays, although this trend has changed somewhat in recent decades. So if you have Greek friends or acquaintances who bear any of these names, take the opportunity to congratulate them on August 15 – it will be appreciated!

Greek Holidays: Summer Easter unites an entire country

August 15 offers a unique insight into authentic Greece: from the unexpectedly quiet streets of Athens to the local festivities across the country, and from the devoted pilgrims on Tinos to the joyful participants in panigyria – this day showcases a country where tradition and modernity meet uniquely.

It’s a day when local customs come to life, families gather, and many feel a special connection to the country’s cultural heritage. For visitors, August 15 provides a chance to experience Greece beyond the usual tourist attractions – a country where history, faith, and community intertwine into a rich mosaic of experiences.

Have you experienced the celebration of Panagia on August 15 in Greece? We’d be delighted to hear your stories or see your pictures from this special day. Please share your memories and impressions in the comment section below!

It’s always exciting to hear personal experiences from this unique Greek celebration. Whether it’s a picture from a picturesque village, a story about a memorable panigyri, or just a reflection on the atmosphere of this day – your contribution enriches our shared understanding of this fascinating tradition.

Χρόνια Πολλά σε όλες και όλους! (Happy name day to everyone!)

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This seemingly inexplicable ability to endure extreme heat has long fascinated outsiders and raised questions about humanity’s hidden resources.

Today, the phenomenon has been demystified by modern science, and the firewalking itself is no longer considered a complete mystery. It has even gone so far that Western experience companies sell it as part of teambuilding activities and in courses in personal development.

Nowadays, anyone who wants can buy themselves an experience and walk barefoot on glowing coals. At the same time, it is of course not a risk-free activity. There are plenty of testimonies of people actually getting burned during this type of firewalking.

However, it is still deeply fascinating that this act can fundamentally be traced back to a living ritual that has been ongoing for thousands of years. Within the Anastenaria cult, the firewalking is not a modern gimmick, but a tradition carried through the centuries from generation to generation. In 2009, the ritual was also inscribed on UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

Twenty-five years ago, in May 2001, the undersigned published a feature article in the newspaper Metrorama Athens about this ritual. The text depicted the ritual and the phenomenon of akaïa (ακαΐα), a concept perhaps best translated as incombustibility or thermal immunity.

The text aimed to present the ritual both as a living tradition and as a historical phenomenon. The headline was: “Δοκιμασία στην πυρά της πίστης” – which can perhaps best be translated as: “An ordeal on the fire of faith“. The original article (in Greek) from Metrorama 2001 is available as a PDF download at the bottom of the page.

An ordeal on the glowing bed of faith

The Anastenaria tradition, whose roots disappear far back into the mists of history, is brought back to life every year during the celebration of Saints Constantine and Helen.

Tuesday, May 22, 2001 – By Georgios A. Georgiou

On May 21, the feast day of Saints Constantine and Helen, Anastenaria is brought to life in several villages in Greek Macedonia and Thrace. It is a distinctive ritual tradition whose roots disappear far back into the mists of time.

Prominent folklore scholars agree, however, that Anastenaria has preserved elements of the ancient Dionysian cult. The rites include animal sacrifice, ecstatic dance, firewalking, akaïa (incombustibility), and rituals reminiscent of the ancient maenads’ ecstasy.

The firewalking Anastenarides appear as contemporary mystics in an ancient cult. When they are finally filled with the saints’ power after long ritual preparations, they step into the bed of glowing coals. Holding the icons in their hands, they run and dance ecstatically, driven by the increasingly fast and wild music.

Deep sighs, ritual cries, and incoherent words are heard from them as their bare feet step onto the glowing bed of coals to drive out evil, while they repeatedly chant their traditional prayers for prosperity and protection.

The origins of Anastenaria

Scholars believe that this unique folk cult originates from the ancient homelands of northeastern Thrace and Cappadocia, from where the population was later violently expelled, and that the tradition has been passed down in unaltered form to today’s northern Greek villages.

It is also known that dozens of people and religious sects have crossed paths and influenced each other in this broader geographical cultural area over the centuries. Furthermore, there is evidence that major orgiastic festivals called Psycharia and Sthenaria were celebrated during the Byzantine Middle Ages. Today’s custom may be linked to these.

Firewalking as a rite for healing, initiation, and faith is a global phenomenon that has been practiced for thousands of years by widely diverse cultures worldwide, from the Pacific Islands and Asia to parts of Southern Europe. This global pattern strengthens the theory that Anastenaria may fundamentally be a Proto-Indo-European heritage.

Firewalking as a commercial experience

In our time, however, the great tradition of the Anastenarides tends to be diluted, as it has increasingly been transformed into a tourist attraction and a noisy, commercial market. Many judge that the ritual has lost touch with its roots and risks dying out completely, or, at best, being reduced to cheap entertainment and magic tricks.

This is, of course, not the firewalkers’ own fault, but rather a reflection of the modern zeitgeist that seeks to turn everything sacred into a commodity. It is telling that for many years, Anastenaria was held behind closed doors – hidden and secret, far away from external influence and the eyes of outsiders.

However, this tradition was largely concealed due to the church’s hostile attitude. The official Orthodox Church has always opposed the firewalkers’ practices, branding them as pagan and accusing the practitioners of ridiculing the holy icons.

The initiated society

According to scholars, the firewalkers themselves are simple villagers who preserve their cult through oral traditions, which they have inherited directly from their ancestors. In the communities where they live, they always constitute a distinct group, an order or a brotherhood, which is said to resemble the ancient sacred societies of the Dionysian type.

Although the practitioners view themselves as deeply devout Christians, they rarely attend church. Instead, they practice their cult in special rooms in their own homes, known as konakia, or out in nature – usually in sacred groves and at places they themselves consider hallowed and call agiasmata. Their lives are characterized by strict discipline and simplicity, and they are regarded as deeply respected individuals in the villages.

In the konakia, they keep the cult’s sacred objects: the “ever-burning” oil lamp and the distinctive icons with their characteristic handles underneath, which make it possible to hold them firmly during the ecstatic dances. These icons are called “konstantinata,” “grandfathers,” or “gifts of grace.” They are adorned with small bells, ribbons, rings, coins, chains, and holy rosaries – objects that, according to the practitioners themselves, help to drive away evil.

The sacred musical instruments are also kept in the konakia: the lyre and the drum, whose monotonous rhythms and melodies help the participants fall into an ecstasy before the dance over the glowing coals begins.

A special axe and a knife are also considered sacred objects, as these are used in the ritual animal sacrifice that precedes the celebration. The animal to be sacrificed – the so-called bikadi – is usually a lamb or a ram, but in the past, it could also be a bull.

The animal is led to the sacrificial site with lit so-called “soul candles” attached to its horns and a wreath of flowers around its neck. After the sacrifice, which takes place in a strictly ritualistic manner, the animal is cooked and eaten by the initiates for luck and prosperity, as it is believed to embody a magical power that benefits the entire community.

Several scholars believe that the meat of the sacrificed animal was eaten raw in the past, just as during the ancient rituals of the maenads. This further supports the view that Anastenaria has its roots in the Dionysian cult. In addition to the bloody animal sacrifice, the preparations also include a water blessing, the breaking of bread, and a shared, heartfelt group devotion inside the konaki.

The initiates then begin their circle dance, which serves as a final preparation for the firewalking. They dance exhaustingly for many hours with the icons in their hands, aiming to induce the emotional state of ecstasy that will allow them to walk on the coals.

The sacred fire

The fire that will become the bed of coals is lit during the early evening hours and kept alive by specifically initiated individuals who have inherited this task from their ancestors. Once the flames have subsided and turned into a thick layer of deep red glowing coals, the practitioners are notified and soon arrive in a slow procession.

The visitor can then see how they surround their leader while a torchbearer goes first with a candle considered sacred in hand. The drums thunder and the lyres play wild, intoxicating melodies, accompanied by songs that, according to musicologists, are local variants of the medieval Akritic epic poems.

When the intensity of the atmosphere reaches its peak, characteristic cries begin to be heard from the firewalkers – a sign that the great moment is approaching. Suddenly, one of the ecstatic participants breaks away from the circle and steps barefoot directly onto the glowing coals, holding a sacred piece of cloth or an icon.

Seized by sacred ecstasy, the firewalker begins to dance with wild, almost orgiastic intensity, drawing the others out onto the glowing coals. Everyone experiences, as they say themselves, sights and visions: some see Saint Helen appear and wash their feet with cool water, while others see Saint Constantine pour water over the entire bed of coals and extinguish the fire.

At this stage, they are already stomping around in full ecstasy. They dance, say prayers, and get a wild look in their eyes, their bodies jerking as they raise the icons toward the sky and move across the fire in a ritual trance. At the same time, they exhibit the debated phenomenon known in Greek as akaïa (incombustibility) – the ability not to get burned.

Finally, they leave the fire filled with joy and relief – unharmed and, with very few exceptions, without burns. Drenched in sweat, pale, and exhausted, as if after a major physical ordeal, they now calm down and reverently kiss the icons before handing them over to the group leader.

Akaia – the phenomenon of incombustibility

Much has been written and said about firewalking, particularly about the phenomenon of akaïa (incombustibility). Relevant references can already be found in the writings of classical antiquity. Today, entire studies have been published presenting various viewpoints, often colored by the researchers’ own ideological convictions. The fact remains, however, that even today, science struggles to fully provide a comprehensive explanation for the phenomenon.

It is believed that the explanation for the incombustibility partly lies in the firewalkers’ fast footwork, meaning that they move rapidly over the coals from one foot to the other. Another explanation is that charcoal is a poor conductor of heat. This means that the skin does not have time to suffer burns, provided that the firewalking is performed with the correct speed and technique.

However, everyone agrees that a prolonged psychological preparation is necessary, if only to gather the courage to step onto the glowing coals in the first place, which, according to measurements, reach temperatures of several hundred degrees.

In recent years, “schools” for firewalking have actually been started in both the US and Western Europe, and seminars are organized around this ancient custom.

In their promotional brochures, modern instructors claim that these ancient techniques contain nothing supernatural or magical. Instead, they argue that the methods are accessible to anyone wishing to boost their self-confidence, courage, and mental strength – even though these courses and seminars often come at a noticeable financial cost to the participant.

When it comes to the phenomenon of incombustibility, however, the classic adage will always hold: those who don’t know any better shouldn’t play with fire.

It is worth reminding ourselves that firewalking is a global phenomenon found in widely differing cultures worldwide, from Siberia and Tibet to the Fiji Islands and among the indigenous peoples of North America.

Myth and tradition

Following the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the Greeks of Eastern Rumelia were forced to leave their homes and settle in northern Greece. With them, they carried not only their few belongings but also their sacred icons – the so-called “chares” and “pappoudes” – which in most cases depicted Saint Helen and Saint Constantine. Along with them, the Anastenaria tradition also crossed the border.

According to myth, the tradition originated during the persecutions of the Greeks in Eastern Rumelia, when Ottoman troops set fire to their churches. The story goes that the inhabitants gathered weeping outside the Church of Saint Constantine and Saint Helen, at which point they were granted divine power. The saints are said to have appeared to the villagers, giving the faithful the strength to walk straight through the fire to rescue the icons.

Today, folklorists agree that the Anastenaria tradition has its roots in the villages of Eastern Rumelia. The first official documentation of the custom was made in 1872 by Professor Anastasios Hourmouziadis. His speech at the Greek Orthodox Academy of Constantinople was titled: “On the Anastenaria and other peculiar and superstitious traditions“.

Metrorama Athens, Tuesday 22 May 2001, by Georgios A. Georgiou

A quarter of a century later

Twenty-five years have passed since this article was published in Metrorama Athens. In the meantime, the world has changed, but the Anastenaria still lives on in northern Greece – somewhere between faith, ecstasy, folklore, and living history.

Much about firewalking has, over time, been analyzed and partly explained by science. At the same time, a strange question mark remains surrounding the ritual for anyone who has truly witnessed it at close quarters. Many participants do not seem to just quickly pass over the coals, but instead remain on them for a long time, dancing in the middle of the fire for several minutes.

I still remember the feeling myself from the village of Langadas, when the drums thundered through the night, and people danced barefoot across the glowing bed of coals. Even today, it is difficult to entirely shake the impression of having witnessed something that, at least for a moment, seemed to defy both reason and the laws of nature.

📥 Download the original article from: Metrorama Athens (PDF)

📖 On our blog, you will find several related articles about Greek folklife and tradition.

A large part of these testimonies could have been lost if it weren’t for institutions like the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation. The foundation is a center for research and education, dedicated to promoting Greek culture both nationally and internationally. Its work covers a wide range of fields, from literature and history to maritime research and the preservation of historical documents.

Part of their digital initiative is Travelogues, a project led by historian Ioli Vingopoulou. The platform collects material from travel accounts about the Greek islands and the entire Eastern Mediterranean from the 15th century onward. Its purpose is to provide researchers and the general public with access to these unique testimonies while highlighting Greek culture and history in an international context.

For those interested in exploring further, Travelogues is also available in English: http://eng.travelogues.gr/

Travelers in the Greek Islands (1500–1900)

The travelers who journeyed through the Aegean Sea from the 16th century to the early 20th century did so for many different reasons. Some were pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land, others were diplomats on missions to the Ottoman capital. Merchants sought new markets, scholars and lovers of antiquity mapped the region’s history, and from the mid-19th century onward, journeys made purely for leisure became increasingly common.

The Greek islands lay along these sea routes but did not form a unified world. Some were under Venetian or Genoese control, while others were subject to the Ottoman Empire. Regardless of the ruling power, travelers often encountered a reality that differed from their expectations. They sought the lost antiquity but also discovered a vibrant archipelago where people struggled, worked, and adapted to the conditions set by nature and history. Some islands were nearly deserted, while others thrived through trade and seafaring. Through their testimonies, we gain insight into both sides of the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea.

This article is a first glimpse into the stories and images preserved from the travelers’ time in the Greek islands. Here, we highlight selected moments and accounts that offer a sense of the world they encountered – an exploration we will delve deeper into in the upcoming parts. All material in this article is published with permission from the Laskarides Foundation.

Syros

During the 19th century, Syros underwent an incredibly dramatic transformation. From being relatively unknown among the Greek islands, it became one of the Mediterranean’s most important commercial centers. Here, East, and West converged in a bustling hub of trade and culture.

J. Emerson Tennent was an Irish politician and lawyer. His travel accounts are a blend of travel narrative and political reflections, often based on second-hand information. His work includes one of the earliest views of Syros, from a time when the island was establishing itself as an important port in the Aegean Sea.

Among the journeys he describes is the voyage aboard the steamship Francesco I, the first cruise in the Eastern Mediterranean, organized by the architect Marchebeus in 1833 and later recounted in his travel chronicle from 1839.

The work of photographer F. F. Boissonnas, from the early 20th century, was groundbreaking in the history of photography. His images of Syros and other locations unite landscapes and people in perfect harmony.

During the second half of the 19th century, Syros gained increased attention in the European press. British newspapers such as The Illustrated London News and The Graphic published detailed wood engravings depicting the island’s landscape, population, and social life. These images, based on travelers’ sketches and notes, provided a wider audience with a visual insight into both everyday life on Syros and major events in the Greek world, ranging from political upheavals to natural disasters.

Patmos

In 1801, mineralogist Edward Daniel Clarke and his travel companions visited the monastery on Patmos, where they were granted permission to enter its library. What they encountered was a chaotic collection of books and manuscripts, where dust, moths, and mold had begun to take over.

Note: The text is a summary of an extensive article in Lifo magazine about the Laskarides Foundation’s online sessions on the Greek islands before modernization.

On the shelves stood printed books, which the monks valued most, while the hand-written manuscripts lay in disordered piles on the floor. Among them, traveler Clarke made some astonishing discoveries: a forgotten Platonic dialogue, a lexicon by Cyril of Alexandria, and volumes of ancient Greek hymns, complete with early musical notation. The monks agreed to sell some of the manuscripts—but only under the condition that the transaction be kept secret from the island’s inhabitants.

But the deal did not go as planned. As the travelers’ ship was ready to set sail and the manuscripts had yet to be delivered, they believed they had been deceived. Then, a man appeared on the shore with a large basket and gave a discreet signal. A boat was sent out to him, and he called out that he was delivering bread.

Edward Daniel Clarke himself describes in detail how the exchange took place:

“The man came aboard, cast a meaningful glance at us, and said loudly, ‘The Hegumen (Prior) has ordered me to take the basket back empty, and he asks that you count the loaves to ensure they are correct.’ We understood at once. We hurried aside, overturned the basket, and to our delight found Plato’s dialogue, Cyril’s lexicon, and other manuscripts. We quickly hid them, handed back the basket along with a small bakshish (tip), and everything went exactly as we had hoped.”

However, the smuggling affair did not remain a secret. The incident caused a scandal, and as early as the following year, 1802, an inscription in hexameter verse was carved at the library’s entrance. It reads:

“Within lie brilliant manuscripts.
To the wise man, they are more precious than gold.
Therefore, preserve them with the greatest care,
More than your own life.
For thanks to these writings, the monastery has become radiant.”

A Danish woman on Sikinos, 1850

In the 19th century, Greece was ruled by King Otto and Queen Amalia. The queen had a Danish personal pastor whose wife was Christiane Lüth. During her thirteen-year stay in the country, she frequently traveled around the Greek islands in the Aegean Sea. In her writings, she refrains from using academic terms, describing the people and islands in a simple, clear manner with a friendly and objective tone.

We arrived at the island of Sikinos around noon and found a simple harbor with two old boats. After some persuasion, we managed to get donkeys and began ascending a steep hill toward the village under the hot sun. We paused for a while at a well, where the view was vast and clear.

In the village, we were greeted by the Health Officer on a terrace, and we were soon surrounded by villagers who offered us coffee. The mayor arrived and invited us to his house, where his wife spoke to us kindly.

We also visited the church of Episkopi, built on an ancient temple dedicated to Apollo. Columns and marble from the old pagan temple are still prominently visible in and around the church building. On the way there, the priest offered us bread, olives, and raw beans. On the way back from the church, we visited a young weaver and had the chance to see her craftsmanship.

When we returned to the village, we were once again met by the mayor and the villagers. They wanted to hear about our excursion and what we thought of their island.

Note: The text above is a summary of an extensive article in Lifo magazine about the Laskarides Foundation’s online sessions on the Greek islands before modernization.

Paros

Choiseul-Gouffier, a French nobleman and travel writer, visited Paros during his first journey to Greece in 1776. In Voyage pittoresque de la Grèce, he described how the island’s marble, renowned for its purity and transparency, had once shaped some of Greece’s greatest works of art.

However, he was not only fascinated by the island’s marble quarries but also by its local life, documenting both landscapes and people. His accounts spread across Europe, helping to enhance the island’s mythical status as a place where the ancient heritage still lived.

Santorini

The volcanic island of Santorini, otherworldly and captivating, followed the same historical fate as the rest of the Cyclades, transitioning from Venetian to Ottoman rule. After centuries of foreign dominion, the island became part of the modern Greek state in the 19th century. It was during this period of change that Christopher Wordsworth published his richly illustrated work, Greece, Pictorial, Descriptive. More a historical account than a travel narrative, it gained significant popularity with the public.

Christopher Wordsworth was a distinguished classical scholar and Bishop of Lincoln. He traveled through Greece in 1832–1833 and was the first British citizen to be received by King Otto.

Wordsworth documented his travels through meticulous archaeological observations, with vivid depictions of the places he visited at the forefront. By connecting modern locations with their ancient counterparts, Wordsworth provides us with a captivating portrayal of Greece’s history. His work combines intellectual rigor with personal enthusiasm, making it a fascinating read for those wishing to explore Greece’s rich past through the eyes of a knowledgeable traveler.

The beginning of a longer journey

Here we conclude the first stage of our expedition through Greece, seen through the eyes of foreign travelers. Their diaries, sketches, and letters have revived an Aegean landscape long reshaped by the passage of time—but the glimpses we have shared are merely the beginning of a much more extensive account.

We will delve deeper into these travelers’ experiences and observations in future articles. We will follow their paths through communities, villages, ancient ruins, and coastal landscapes that have since undergone significant changes. The travelers’ documentation serves as an important historical resource, shedding light on cultural traditions, architecture, and everyday life from a time when travel was reserved for a privileged few.

By comparing their accounts with today’s reality, we also gain perspective on the development of tourism in the region—both its contribution to economic growth and its profound impact on local communities. Their notes and images thus become a valuable reference point for understanding the transformation of the islands over the past centuries.

Sources:

Texts, images, photographs, and maps are published with permission from the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation. The material is based on the Foundation’s extensive archives, where the travelers’ testimonies are documented: https://www.laskaridisfoundation.org/en/

Argyro Bozonis’s article in Lifo magazine has also been an important reference in this compilation.

Further Reading:

The website TravelTrails is a collaboration between the Aikaterini Laskaridis Foundation and the Gennadius Library. The site serves as a comprehensive database of travel accounts from the Eastern Mediterranean between the 16th and 20th centuries. It is available in Greek, Turkish, and English: https://traveltrails.gr.

Related Articles

By comparing these historical accounts with modern travel narratives, we gain a unique perspective on how the islands and the experience of traveling have changed over the centuries. For those curious about what it was like to explore the Greek islands in more recent times, the article series Uffe’s Greek Wanderings is recommended. It depicts island life during the 1970s and 1980s—a period when mass tourism had just begun, yet the islands still retained much of their traditional character.

• Ulf’s carefree Greek roamings, part 1
• Ulf’s carefree Greek roamings, part 2
• Ulf’s carefree Greek roamings, part 3

Moreover, Soufli and its surroundings offer an impressive variety of attractions, such as an outstanding national park, a 45-million-year-old fossil forest, several prehistoric megalithic monuments, as well as numerous Muslim and Christian religious sites.
Another aspect highlighted by the UNWTO is Soufli’s excellent wine and meat production, the beekeeping and other local traditions and crafts. “Soufli is perfectly placed to develop an alternative to mass tourism by focusing on offering unique experiences with a local touch,” concludes the UNWTO.

The silk town of Soufli is emerging

The town and municipality of Soufli are located in northeastern Greece and are stretched out on the eastern side of the mighty Rhodope Mountains. The city center is located just 1600 feet away from the Evros River, which forms the natural border between Greece and Turkey.

The area has a long history dating back to prehistoric times. Megalithic monuments, rock paintings, sacrificial sites and inscriptions indicate very early human presence. Ancient tombs and other important archaeological finds confirm a flourishing civilization during the Hellenistic period.

According to Dr Athanassios Gouridis, civil engineer-archaeologist of Municipality of Soufli, the town was first mentioned 1401-1402, (as Sofular Mehmedi) when it was tax-freed in order for the inhabitants to serve as river – passers. Another early documentation is dated back to 1667 when the Turkish traveler Evliya Çelebi mentions that “Sofulu is a main village that does not pay taxes to the Sublime Porte” (Ottoman Empire).
Eventually, Soufli developed into an important hub for trade and cultural exchange. In the 19th century, the city became the administrative center of a rich province that stretched on both sides of the Evros Valley.

The development of new methods of silk production and the expansion of the national railway network in the late 19th century contributed significantly to the impressive economic development of the following decades. The city’s economy flourished and prosperity increased significantly in the wake of the expanding silk industry. At the same time, there was a social and cultural renaissance. The population of the silk town of Soufli almost tripled at the turn of the century and the educational level of its inhabitants increased significantly. Alongside the many silk factories, new schools, churches and theaters were built, which still characterize the townscape today.

In the latter part of the 20th century, however, there was a marked deterioration in economic prosperity and a slowdown in previously prosperous development. This decline can be attributed to a variety of factors. The Greco-Turkish war of 1919-22, when Soufli lost tens of thousands of hectares of land with mulberry trees east of the river Evros, and the introduction of synthetic silk are perhaps the main reasons for this deterioration. In the latter part of the 20th century, Soufli suffered several devastating floods in its low-water areas. In the summer of 2023, the catastrophic forest fires that raged throughout Greece destroyed large parts of the Dadia National Park.

Cocoon houses – koukoulospita

The UNWTO motivation also praised the historic local architecture of Soufli, especially the characteristic cocoon houses (κουκουλόσπιτα/koukoulospita or μπιτζικλίκια/bitziklikia). They are impressive two- or three-storey brick buildings in an industrial style with symmetrical facades and large open interiors. In these buildings, silkworms were bred in large beds of mulberry leaves where they spun their precious cocoons. The buildings also served as housing for the families of the silk producers. There are several dozen cocoon houses left in the silk town of Soufli. Most are now abandoned but some have been renovated and refurbished. One of the most famous is Kalesis’ cocoon house, which has been converted into a small hotel, hotel Koukouli.

In the cocoon houses, the silk worm practiced its extraordinary art for many decades. It is almost inconceivable to us that a tiny worm that hatches from an egg smaller than one tenth of an inch, feeds on mulberry leaves until it grows thousands of times larger, and at the same time spins a cocoon of silk thread that can be 1500 miles long!

Recent recovery

The UNWTO’s selection of the silk town of Soufli as one of the world’s top tourist villages reflects the recovery that has taken place in recent years, driven by the local authorities. The cultivation of silk has started again and the production of silk fabrics has resumed. At the same time, new ways of making and using silk products have been developed. Other traditional crafts have also been promoted to highlight the region’s rich cultural heritage. With EU funding, the municipality has also organized large-scale events and festivals to attract visitors. Investments in innovative technologies such as VR and digital guides contribute to a modern and sustainable tourism offer. The silk town of Soufli combines the old and the new in a creative way.

It is no wonder that Soufli sometimes is called the town of museums. There are several impressive museums offering unique collections and exhibitions on the production and processing of silk. They also organize guided tours where visitors have a great opportunity to immerse themselves in the whole process of silk production and silk processing:

• Art of Silk Museum
• Soufli Folklore Museum
• Silk Museum of the Piraeus Bank Group Cultural Foundation (PIOP) network
• Municipal Folklore Museum

Visitors can also explore beautiful and high-quality silk products, not only in the city’s museums, but also in the numerous shops that characterize the townscape.

Taste experiences in the silk town of Soufli

Since the entire region of Thrace and the Evros Valley always constituted a crossroad and a melting pot of people and cultures, it is no surprise that Soufli offers a gastronomic diversity rich in influences from all directions. The town is known for its outstanding wine, the spicy tsipouro drink and its traditional delicacies, including tasty herb-spiced sausages, kavurma and, above all, the babo sausage – the famous Thracian delicacy. In the food shops you can also find products from local dairies and apiaries, as well as delicious dried fruits and nuts.

Detailed information on the local supply of products and services in Soufli can be found here: https://www.visitsoufli.com/

Related article: World Heritage in Greece 2023, complete UNESCO list

Sources: Municipality of Soufli, UNWTO, Wikipedia, Svens­ka In­sti­tu­tet i Athen